While 2005 will be forever seen as the year the US government managed to keep unilateral control of the Internet, everyone failed to notice a related change that will have far greater implications for everyday Internet users and for the Internet itself. That change will see greater state-controlled censorship on the Internet, reduce people's ability to use the Internet to communicate freely, and leave expansion of the Internet in the hands of <A HREF="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/29/us_undermines_internet/">the people least capable of doing the job.</A> It is also another example of where the US government's control has--in real, verifiable terms--had a direct, unchecked impact on the Internet, despite constant assurances that it takes only a benevolent and passive role. And it has come as a result of the US administration's hugely controversial decision to invade Iraq.